TRE‑SE Bars PL Candidate in Sergipe After Vice‑Candidate Renounces

Overview

• The TRE‑SE ruling, issued on Sept. 30, homologated Érico Menezes’s renunciation of the vice‑governor slot and concluded that Ricardo Marques’s candidacy could not be maintained under the TSE principle of ticket indivisibility.
• The decision rests on a TSE resolution that treats majoritarian tickets as legally indivisible so a formal withdrawal by a vice can nullify the principal’s registration when timing and filings do not allow substitution.
• Érico Menezes gave different explanations for his withdrawal, citing his wife’s health in a social‑media note and citing “divergences as to the purpose of the candidacy” in the formal TRE filing.
• Reporting and campaign finance records show deep factional splits inside the PL in Sergipe, including large funding gaps—Rodrigo and Moana Valadares declared roughly R$6 million while Ricardo Marques declared about R$300,000—which sources link to the rupture.
• Ricardo Marques said he felt “disrespected,” his legal team is reviewing appeals, and the party now faces immediate strategic uncertainty with four days until the first round and a possible scramble over endorsements or legal challenges.